


What You Did In The Dark

by procellous



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Post-Endgame, Stockholm Syndrome, and very confused, so spoilers, this is dark ngl, wally is in 2020, wally questions dick's objectivity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-30
Updated: 2013-09-30
Packaged: 2017-12-28 00:37:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/985540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/procellous/pseuds/procellous
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wally is having a no-good, terrible, very bad day. And like all bad days, it had started out great.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Fixations](https://archiveofourown.org/works/784543) by [MathIsMagic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MathIsMagic/pseuds/MathIsMagic). 



Wally West was having a no good, terrible, very bad day.  
  
And like most bad days, it had started out great.  
  
Not only had he woken up with Artemis curled into his chest for the first time in months, but the two of them had gone to Pairs, helped save the world, kissed, and then it all went wrong.   
  
They had missed a spot. And while Barry and Bart had tried to stop the world from exploding, Wally realized that they didn’t have enough kinetic energy to stop it.   
  
And that if he helped, his slower speed would make him a target. He wouldn’t make it out alive.  
  
 _We didn’t come for a playdate,_ Dick had said years ago, when they were still young and naïve. He was right.  
  
And Artemis would kill him for it, but –   
  
It was him or the world.   
  
So he suited up. Zeta’d to the Arctic.  
  
And started running.

* * *

“Just tell her. Okay?”

* * *

The world was dark.  
  
Was this the afterlife?  
  
It’s so dark and everything hurts.  
  
“Are you sure it’s him?”  
  
“I ran his DNA and fingerprints through the database three times. It’s him.”  
  
“That is good news, my friend. We have all missed him greatly.”  
  
If this is the afterlife, why are Artemis and Dick and Kaldur here?  
  
Did he fail?  
  
Did the world actually explode?  
  
Are they all dead too?  
  
“Things have changed, though. If it is him, he’ll have to get used to the way things are now.”  
  
Hands lifted his head and neck, and a cold metal collar was fastened around his neck.  
  
“He’ll thank us for this someday.”  
  
And then he managed to open his eyes.  
  
It was Artemis, Dick, and Kaldur, but at the same time, it wasn’t.  
  
Artemis was in Tigress uniform, and that was where the recognizable costumes ended.  
  
Dick was wearing what looked like a modified Nightwing uniform: the blue bird had been replaced with red, and the wings spread over his shoulders down to fingerstripes on his middle and ring fingers, and the gloves had gained knife-like extensions.  
  
Kaldur was in a solid red uniform with black streaks across his right shoulder, his arms, and chest.  
  
He tries to say, “Where am I?” but his mouth won’t cooperate and what comes out is, “Wrhmi?”  
  
All three of them turn to look at him in unison, and it’s more than a little creepy.  
  
Artemis smiles and cups his cheek, but before anyone can say anything, there’s a  knock on the door.   
  
“Come in,” Dick calls, and a boy that Wally has never seen before walks in. He looks vaguely Arab, and is wearing a modified Robin costume. His mask is sharper and green, his cape has a hood, and his boots and gloves are green as well.  
  
“-Tt- There is a riot at Gotham University. I only inform you of this because you have requested notification of all riots. Scarab and Amazon are already on the scene.”  
  
“Thank you, Robin.”  
  
The boy nods sharply and walks away.  
  
“Why is there a riot? And who’s Scarab and Amazon and why is there a new Robin?”  
  
“Wally, do you know what year it is?” Artemis asks him.  
  
“2015, right?”  
  
“No, Wally – it’s 2020. You’ve been dead for five years.”  
  
“Five – five years? Dead? But – I — Mom? Dad? What about–” Wally said, beginning to hyperventilate.  
  
“Wally. Calm down. Everything’s okay. We called your parents once we confirmed your identity. They’re on their way. Everything’s gonna be okay,” Dick said. “So calm down.”  
  
“He’s right, Wally,” Artemis said. “A lot has changed – but we’re still your friends.We’ve got your back.”  
  
“You can trust us,” Kaldur reminded him.  
  
“I guess I have some catching up to do, huh?”  
  
“Only a lot,” Dick said. “We’ve made some new additions, a few people changed their names, and – well,” he shot a look towards Kaldur, “We’ll get to the rest later.”  
  
Artemis helped him to his feet. He wobbled a bit, and then straightened.  
  
“So, now we tour the clubhouse?”

* * *

The clubhouse, as it turned out, was a rebuilt Mt. Justice, though any resemblance to the cave that the team had spent it’s early years in was nearly completely gone. Glowing holo-screens covered the walls, the kitchen was stripped bare, and the TV had been replaced with a large monitor, showing news reports from around the world.  
  
“Well, you’ve certainly made some changes.”  
  
“When we rebuilt, we focused on practicality and function over being a clubhouse hangout,” Kaldur explained.  
  
“Yeah. I noticed. Speaking of things I noticed, what’s with the inhibitor collar?”  
  
“We needed to make sure you didn’t run off. You can’t really blame us for being paranoid. We just got you back – we can’t lose you again.”  
  
“That’d be sweet if it wasn’t so creepy. But who are the new members? Scarab, Amazon, whichever Robin we’re on this time?”  
  
“You already know Scarab and Amazon – they’re Blue Beetle and Wonder Girl, and Damian is the fifth Robin.”  
  
“Fifth? Do you have, like, an army of Robin clones in the batcave or what? What happened to Tim?”  
  
“Tim’s fine, he became Red Robin. Creative that, but it’s irrelevant. The fourth Robin, Stpehanie, is currently operating as the Spoiler. And Jason – Jason’s the Red Hood.”  
  
“Whoa, back up. Jason Todd’s alive?”  
  
“Yeah. Came back about a year after you – after you died.”  
  
“Is – did anyone else…?”  
  
Kaldur sighed and looked away.  
  
“No.”

* * *

After the grand tour and the crash course in who’s who, Kaldur and Dick left him and Artemis to make up for lost time.

They actually don’t do anything except hold each other close as they cry.  
  
“I thought – I thought I had lost you.”  
  
“You weren’t coming back, there wasn’t even a body, nothing to bury.”  
  
“I thought I was never going to see you again.”  
  
“I’m never letting you go again.”  
  
“I’m never leaving.”  
  
“I love you.”  
  
“I love you, too.”

* * *

"We're gonna have to tell him, Kaldur."

"He will hate us for this."

"That's why we're being honest. If he finds out on his own, he'd hate us more for not telling him."

"He is going to hate us either way. He will think we crossed a line."

"He'd come around. This is the way it has to be. And he'll understand that. Eventually. The world is safer because of us. Because of what we did."

"What _did_ we do, Dick?"

"What needed to be done. The world is _safer,_ Kaldur. And if we had done this sooner, Ted Kord and Jason and Wally and, and _Tula_ would never have died."

"…I will not argue with that. But Wally will."


	2. Chapter 2

"Wally, we need to talk," Dick said as soon as Wally left his room.

"We do?"

"The world's changed, and we've changed too. You need to understand how different this world is."

"Dick, you aren't making any sense."

"You'll understand soon. Come on, there's something I want to show you."

Wally followed Dick into the monitor room, where the acrobat pulled up a video feed of a peaceful, sunny city.

"What city is that?" Wally asked.

"Gotham."

"Gotham? No way. You're messing with me."

"I'm not. That's what used to be Crime Alley."

"Crime Alley? I didn't know it could look that…"

"Clean? None of us did. But once we started to actually stop crime, instead of just fighting it, once we arrested the drug dealers and got the people off the streets, it started cleaning up."

"Wait, hang on. What do you mean, _stopping_ crime instead of fighting it?"

"We ended them, Wally. We put out the Light. We stopped the fight from ever happening again!"

"You _what?"_

"It was _their fault_. Because of them, the Reach arrived on Earth. Because of them, you _died._ And now they can't hurt _anyone_ anymore."

"You _idiot_!"

"What!?"

"You're killing people, Dick!"

"They're the bad guys!"

"And that justifies _murder?_ "

"Yes! Don't you get it? We're cleaning up the streets, we're doing what we should have done from the start! The Joker, Ra's al Ghul, Lex Luthor, all of them! A life for a life, that's fair!"

"That's not – What right do you have to decide who lives and who dies?"

"I don't have that right – the _people_ decided to let the punishment fit the crime."

"Do I even _know_ you anymore?"

"I know that to you, this seems sudden. But once you see how much better the world is now, once you see how much cleaner, how much happier, how much safer the world is – you’ll understand."

"Oh yeah? What makes you think that?"

"Because I can prove it." Dick turned to the holo-screens, pulling up image after image of clean, peaceful cities, "Gotham. Central. Keystone. Star. The Qurac/Bialya border. Look, Wally. Look at how peaceful we've made this world."

* * *

"I take it you told him?" Kaldur asked Dick as he sulked over a mug of hot chocolate.

"Yeah."

"How did he react?"

"Badly."

"I am not surprised. He does not know or understand what we do."

"He'll come around."

"Are you certain of that?"

"…no."

"I see."

* * *

"Why? Why did you let them do this!" Wally asked Artemis as she fixed a broken arrow.

"Dick told you, didn't he."

"Yeah, he did. And I want to know why you let them start killing!"

"They weren't the ones who started bringing people to justice."

"Wh-"

"After you…after you died, a lot of things changed. After the Arctic, Lex Luthor became Secretary-General of the UN. He said that metas and heroes should be registered and forced to reveal their identities. And…I assassinated him. After that, we realized that we needed to hold villains accountable for what they've done. Yeah, we've done some bad things, but it's all for the greater good. The world's so much better now."

"I - I - I don't –"

"Wally." She put a hand on his arm. "It's okay. I get it; you're confused. In shock. Just calm down. Everything will make sense, you just have to give it time.”

“Under–understand? What is there to understand? You’re killing people – it doesn’t matter what they’ve done, you’re no better than they are –”

“Aunty Artemis?” a young girl who looked about five or six with a red ponytail and a tiny Speedy costume asked from the door.

“Yes, Lian? What is it?”

“Mommy and Daddy and other-Daddy said that Uncle Wally was back and he was with you so I came here to see if it was true. Is it true?”

“Yes, sweetie, it is. See? There’s Uncle Wally right there.” Wally waved, feeling awkward. The last time he had seen Lian was when her mother had dropped her off at their house for a weekend. (And then Barry popped in for a surprise visit, saw Artemis holding a red haired Vietnamese kid and freaked. Calming him down took a whole day and a face-off with Sportsmaster.)

“Yay! Now Aunty Artemis will be happy and Uncle Bart won’t look so sad all the time and Iris and Jai will have a Daddy and can we have a party like when Uncle Jay-son came back?”

“Of course we’ll have a party, Lian! I bet Aunt Megan’s already planning one, why don’t you go help her?”

“Okay!” she said, and ran off.

“Artemis. Is there something you aren’t telling me?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to tell you when you were busy freaking out!”

“Oh, I’m freaking out, alright! You couldn’t have told me before I went to the Arctic?”

“I would have if I had known! I didn’t find out about it until a month later!”

“They’re really…”

“Ours? Not too many people with superspeed out there.”

“I have kids?”

“Twins. Jai and Iris.”

“Where…where are they?”

“They’ve been staying with the Allens for the time being. With all the chaos around you just coming back, we wanted to make sure they stayed with people they trusted and who could keep an eye on them.”

"How are they?"

"Iris and Jai? They're fine."

"No…Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris. And Mom and Dad. How are they?"

"They've missed you. A lot."

"Can we…"

"Yeah. Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit 6 March 2016 — fixed Lian's speech.


End file.
